Archive for the 'Techs & Toys' Category

Ritzy Periwinkle, aka Marisa Estrada is a Los Angeles artist and designer with deep roots in urban art and music culture. The name Ritzy Periwinkle, a pseudonym that started among her and her crew, stems from “Maritza” (the way her birth name was originally supposed to be spelled) and the Crayola color, “Periwinkle”. The tight beats and poetic lyrics of Hip Hop fuel her artistic creativity. Graduating from California State University Long Beach with a fine art degree with an emphasis in graphic design, Ritzy has created designs and artwork for Dilated Peoples, Aterciopelados, Sonic Youth, Calle 13, “I Am Legend”, Slick Rick, Arcade Fire and many more. With art exhibitions in art and music hubs such as Los Angeles, Detroit and New York, Ritzy communicates a beautiful energy and respect for her community of women and people of color. Working in photography, illustrations, graphics, collage and creating a flourishing boutique t-shirt line, Ritzy compliments her gritty stylistic tendencies with a positive vibe that is attributed to her eclectic influences and unique background. Ritzy Periwinkle happily mixes music and art to her own beat, bringing pure harmony to her creativity.

Bic Plastics recently announced their first mini figures artist series, dubbed “Bic Buddy Artist Series 1.” The series features custom designs from 13 artists including: Ritzy Periwinkle, Marka27, COPE2, KANO and more. Ritzy’s design shows off the wings accessory, adding a new dimension to the standard figure shape. “I only had a couple of days to create two design options for BICS Plastics,” explains Ritzy. “The chosen design was inspired by my experiences of Dia De Los Muertos in Oaxaca, Mexico, as well as the ongoing struggles of women all over the world, the revolutionary acts we commit on the daily and the incredible strength of my mom, who passed away 14 years ago.” The Bic Buddy figures will be distributed in the USA by DKE toys and in Taiwan by Pixie. They will be available in August with a preview at SD Comic Con next week, and there will be release/signing events in L.A. (AUG 15), N.Y.C. (AUG 20) and CHI TOWN (AUG 22).

The iconic creature used in various DJ A-Trak projects, and designed by artist Dust La Rock, has been crafted into an 8 inch plastic toy. Kid Robot will be releasing a limited run of 500 “Grateful Bear” figures, which come outfitted with a gold-plated A-Trak necklace, leather cuff, cotton sweatband, snowcapped igloo, fitted cap and wayfarers.

The A-Trak x Dust La Rock x Kidrobot “Grateful Bear” will be available July 2nd at Kidrobot and other select retailers for $50USD.

So Alex Pardee teamed up with Greg ‘Craola’ Simkins on a really cool collaboration which consists of a tee-shirt and poster combo. This is an eleven-color screenprint and the outcome is totally amazing and highly detailed. Very well worth the shiny penny because I don’t think these are going to last very long.

You can purchase yours conveniently @ the ZeroFriends online store. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to pick up Alex Pardee’s VERY first toy HERE.

It is released on June 14th, but quantities are extremely LIMITED so you should pre-order yours. I just checked the Upper Playground site and both colorways of the toy are already sold out if you haven’t been paying attention.

This must be one of the most amazing video-game console add-ons EVER! No word on when, or if, Nintendo is releasing this in the near future but it’ll push me to buy a Wii for SURE. I’m not a gamer and am really bad at playing any video-games really so buying a console has never been on my ‘to-do’ list BUT this might do it for me. The fact that it’s supported by Montana makes it even MORE amazing. If you don’t know what Montanas are, do yourself a favor and ask any grafitti-artist what kind of cans they prefer to use.

Medicom Toy is releasing the ‘The Watchmen’ Bearbrick Set to celebrate the movie’s theatrical release in March. The two-set Bearbrick packages will include the main characters: The Comedian, Nite Owl II, Ozymandias, Doctor Manhattan, Rorschach and Silk Specre II.

After a bit of a dispute over the rights to the movie and the threat of a possible hold of its release, I’m glad the higher-ups compromised for the sake of the audience’s anticipation. So mark your calendars — March 6th! I like how they didn’t go with blockbuster actors to market the movie and take the spotlight away from the actual characters. Oh, and releasing it on IMAX doesn’t hurt one bit.

Another reason why I’ll envy New Yorkers (aside from that James Jean exhibition) is this new shop/gallery which is a heaven for all your camera needs. The Lomographic Society is opening a Lomography Gallery Store in New York. As a haven for neophytes, they will hold workshops to educate many curious minds of the different aspects of the camera and how to use them. There will also be guest-speakers who are established in the field of photography scheduled. What’s even greater is they will also have a section — LomoJourneys — where you can rent out certain cameras to get a hands-on experience.
As stated earlier, the store also consists of a gallery where art exhibits, parties, and various events will be held. The store will open its doors on Tuesday, January 27th.